Graham Sheen

Graham Sheen (b.1952) has enjoyed a wide ranging career as a bassoonist and teacher. In 1973 he joined the English Opera Group as principal bassoon under the direction of Benjamin Britten. After two years he moved to the English Chamber Orchestra and in the following year became its principal bassoonist. At this time he appeared in many of the orchestra’s most distinguished collaborations, most notably the Mozart cycles of Daniel Barenboim, Murray Perahia and later Mitsuko Ushida. During this same year (1976) he was invited by Sir Neville Marriner to become principal bassoonist of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, a post he held concurrently with that in the English Chamber Orchestra. He has appeared with both orchestras as soloist on numerous occasions in some of the world’s most prestigious festivals and has made many solo recordings for disc and radio. In 1983 he relinquished his post in the English Chamber Orchestra to join his present orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra.